What better way to celebrate the Labour Day long weekend than with a closer look at all the dedicated and hardworking people who work at our farm? Our reliable employees help with picking sweet corn, packing potatoes, stocking the produce stand, delivering our products and extending customer care in the office (all under the watchful eyes of our attentive farm dogs, Riley & Riggs.) We couldn’t do what we do without all their help! Be sure to give them a friendly wave when you see their smiling faces! Enjoy this unofficial last day of summer wherever you are, and we’ll catch you on the flip side of summer as our fall produce begins to come into season. You can visit “Our Dedicated Employees” to learn even more about our fantastic staff.
 As I take a few minutes today on International Women’s Day to reflect on the many powerful women who have changed the world, I would like to think that I have contributed to agriculture on a much smaller scale over the past 25 years here at our family farm. I don’t drive the tractors, I don’t work in the packing shed or deliver 50lb bags of potatoes (anymore) but I am extremely busy with our customers and endless paperwork. Rather than try to toot my own horn, I invite you to see what the experts have to say about me by visiting the link to an article where I was featured in the “Women In Business” section of the East Gwillimbury Bulletin magazine.
 Love is in the air today on Valentine’s Day! And it was definitely in the air in 1944 when the founders of our farm Don and Marion Thompson said their sacred wedding vows. Fifty years later Marion wrote a love poem for Don that was later published in a local newspaper. Her keen observations about the reality of a strong marriage are timeless and worth sharing with all of you. The poem as simply titled “A Valentine” and here it is: To maintain many years of wedded bliss Is accomplished, not by “hit and miss” It’s in loving and caring through nights and days It’s in giving and sharing a hundred ways It’s understanding your mate with his virtues and faults It’s tolerance, without excess of critical assault It’s a skillful blend of silence and sound With neither being one-sided or too profound It’s appreciation and respect for each other’s likes And confidence when misfortune strikes It’s gratitude expressed for acts of love And encouragement to accomplish with sometimes a shove To attempt to maintain this idealistic plan Would be unrealistic for the noblest man Though to this paragon of virtue You may not always incline You’ll always be my valentine To Don from Marion You can visit “The Faces Of Our Farm Part I” and “The Faces Of Our Farm Part II” to read biographies about Don and Marion.
 What do farmers do in January? I’m asked this question rather often, so I prepared this collage of the 4 of us working hard at playing. RJ is developing his engineering career; Curtis pursues a new interest in watercolour painting, and I am busy perfecting the fine art of cuddling. And as for John, he seems to be the only one of us with real energy as he attends truck school to attain his AZ license. Of course, while we definitely enjoy a quieter time at the farm, we are still busy packing and delivering our potatoes to our customers and unbelievably already ramping up for the 2025 growing season. You can visit “The Faces Of Our Farm 2024” to see a video of all of us hard at work during the fall harvest.
Welcome to day 6 of “Ontario Agriculture Week” where we celebrate Ontario farms and the bounty of food grown in Ontario. It’s also “National Farmers Day.” So much to celebrate! RJ, John and Curtis are the farmers who work together to grow our crops every year. Today they will be pushing hard to get as many potatoes into the storage as possible before the forecasted 3 day rain even arrives this evening. So if you happen to see them today, or any other farmer for that matter, send them a shout out “thank you!” A simple kind word will boost tired spirits and inspire them with fresh energy to keep them going during the exhausting harvest season. You can visit “National Farmers Day” to learn more about family farming.
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